18. The man from here was popular in the 60s — overstate it is ambiguous. (7)

19. Quickly — lose Kelvin and gain a point to somehow be exclusive. (7)

20. Thus, oddly, look for sleep. (7)

23. Short, stiff skirt for the archbishop. (4)

26. Age at which wartime favorite Lynn lost her head. (3)

Notes

Send your solutions to Baldface Books Prize Puzzle No. 253, c/o John Nolan, 27 River Road, Farmington, NH 03835, and include your name, address and telephone number. They can also be faxed to 330-3162, or (the preferred method) e-mailed to thetimes@fosters.com

A gift certificate valued at $15 will be awarded by our valued sponsor, Baldface Books of Central Avenue in downtown Dover, to the first correct entry drawn from the hat after the closing date of Monday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. The solution to Baldface Books Prize Puzzle No. 253, along with the name of the winner, and everyone else submitting correct solutions, will be published in the Rochester Times and online at www.fosters.com on Thursday, Feb. 21.

All answers, except proper names, appear in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition and/or The Chambers Dictionary. In this “British-style” crossword, punctuation marks in clues are best ignored, as a rule. The answer to 6 down is in Webster’s but not Chambers.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of letters in the word(s) sought. Folks who need further assistance may call John Nolan at 1-603-332-2300.

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